A sarpanch is a democratically elected head of a village level statutory institution of local self-government called the gram panchayat

Gram panchayat

Gram panchayats are local self-governments at the village or small town level in India. As of 2002 there were about 265,000 gram panchayats in India. The gram panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with minimum population of 300...

 (village government) in India and Pakistan. He, together with other elected Panchas (members), constitute the Gram Panchayat. The Sarpanch is the focal point of contact between government officers and the village community. Recently, there have been proposals to give Sarpanches small judicial powers under Panchayati raj

Panchayati Raj

The panchayat raj is a South Asian political system mainly in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. "Panchayat" literally means assembly of five wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the local community. Traditionally, these assemblies settled disputes between individuals and villages...

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Meaning of word Sarpanch

Sar+Panch= Heads+ five means five main heads of the village in older times one member from each varna (there were 5 varnas), was elected as a Panch (also regarding 5 elements of body construction).

Panchayati Raj (Governance by Sarpanch)

Although Panchayats have been in existence in India since times immemorial, in the post-Independence India, most of the rural development and community development projects have been sought to be executed through the Gram Panchayats. In the federal Indian polity, difference states had different laws governing the powers of the Gram Panchayats and Sarpanches. In many states, elections were not held for decades and instead of the elected Sarpanches, the Gram panchayats were run by bureaucratically appointed administrators. However, with the passage of 73rd and 74rd Constitutional amendments in 1991, a number of safeguards have been built in, including those pertaining to regular elections. However, even the constitutionally mandated devolution of the functions of 29 core subjects remains a distant dream in most states of India. "Power to the people" remains more of a rhetorical slogan than an actual practice.

Nowadays, there are instances of women also being elected to post of Sarpach and they are called as Sarpanchni.